Posts Made By: James Lacey

Originally Posted by Rod Kaufman

Trump then and now....

https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2020/01/04/trump-obama-iran-war-2011-video-ebof-vpx.cnn

The whole thing is a cruel joke. First, Trump abandons a low-cost but highly successful in Northern Syria and justifies it by saying he wants to escape wars in the region forever. Then he throws a stick of dynamite into a tinder-box and stumbles into what will undoubtedly be a costly confrontation with Iran. And to think I'm old enough to remember when Republicans said we couldn't trust Hillary with our national security because of Benghazi.

Originally Posted by James Brown

Sorry to be so jaded, but when everyone who considers Trump's actions makes a half-baked decision on guilt based upon their own predispositions, why even have a trial?

Jim

Because it's the only constitutionally mandated way, we have to hold the executive branch accountable. I remember when Hillary's emails were all the rage, and one of the arguments made over and over again was that if Hillary were anyone else, she would already be in jail. In Hillary's case, in hindsight, it looks like that would not be the case, at least concerning her emails. On the other hand,  in Trump's case, it's true. The only thing keeping him from an indictment is that he's a sitting President.

The Founders had in mind when they included impeachment in the Constitution the need to deal with a President who profited from his office and welcomed interference of foreign powers. It seems painfully obvious that Trump did abuse the power of his office for personal gain in precisely these ways. To think otherwise, you would have to believe that the Whistleblower, Vindman, Hill, Sondland, and a whole host of other serious, smart, and deeply patriotic public servants were all lying. Trump's impeachment matters because no other President in our history has so richly deserved it.

Originally Posted by James Brown

James, Rod, Russ - you may be correct that Trump deserves impeachment and removal.  I personally think it is more likely than not that you are correct.  Professor Foley himself says, "[I]t strains credulity for Trump’s defenders to claim he is acting in good faith, but Congress must make an official judgment as part of any formal impeachment proceedings."  I highly recommend the linked article.  There is a lot of heavy lifting to do before bad faith is objectively proved.  In addition, the President has every right to mount a vigorous defense.  

Jim

I don't know if he deserves removal; I am confident he deserved impeachment. I'm all for having further investigation in the House and eventually a trial in the Senate. Whatever it takes to settle the question of intent is fine with me. Regardless of how it all turns out, though, something to constrain and expose Trump's abuses was necessary. I think most of us don't realize how close he was to getting away with it. Zelensky had an interview scheduled with Fareed Zakaria, where he was going to announce an investigation into Trump's political rivals in September. However, before that could happen, the scandal was exposed and unfolded, and Zelensky canceled the interview. Without the whistleblower complaint, Trump would have gotten away with it.

Originally Posted by Rod Kaufman

As an aside, the DOJ just concluded, despite of all of Trump's lies to the contrary, that there was never any wrongdoing on Uranium one and no charges are warranted. Of course, the Bidens have already been investigated elsewhere in relationship to their involvement in the Ukraine and no evidence of wrongdoing was found there, either. And that was known before Trump came up with his corruption crap...

Don't expect Trump or the MAGA faithful to admit that they have been wrong all along:


https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/justice-dept-winds-down-clinton-related-inquiry-once-championed-by-trump-it-found-nothing-of-consequence/2020/01/09/ca83932e-32f9-11ea-a053-dc6d944ba776_story.html


Justice Dept. winds down Clinton-related inquiry once championed by Trump. It found nothing of consequence.


A Justice Department inquiry launched more than two years ago to mollify conservatives clamoring for more investigations of Hillary Clinton has effectively ended with no tangible results, and current and former law enforcement officials said they never expected the effort to produce much of anything.

Originally Posted by Greg Shaffer

You got that right (bolded above) and here is why:

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/01/it-was-all-a-head-fake-clinton-foundation-whistleblowers-say-huber-lost-their-evidence-had-to-send-it-3-times-huber-never-even-looked-at-it-and-now-the-probe-is-over/

Greg,

Here is how Wikipedia summarized Gateway Pundit.

"The Gateway Pundit is an American far-right news and opinion website. It was founded after the 2004 United States presidential election, according to its founder, Jim Hoft, to "speak the truth" and to "expose the wickedness of the left."

Do you really expect anyone to take seriously anything posted by such a web site? Gateway Pundit does not even pretend to be an objective news source. They openly admit their own bias and political agenda.

Originally Posted by James Brown

I'm assuming that we are all talking about (B) conviction and removal  (see above).  If so, then assessing the veracity of witnesses is one reason among many why we have to see the defense side before our opinions become unchangeable.

Jim

I do not think we are at a point where removal is justified. My personal opinion is that Trump is corrupt, incompetent, and an absolute disaster, but none of that warrants removal. There has been more than enough evidence for impeachment, though, and there is no reason not to let the process play itself out.

Originally Posted by Rod Kaufman

Here's a preview:
https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/26/politics/bolton-book-ukraine-aid-trump/index.html
No wonder Trump and company are doing everything under the sun to block Bolton from testifying...

Ken Starr is currently arguing that you can't impeach Trump because impeachment is obsolete. The man who normalized impeachment for partisan politics is telling us that somehow impeachment is outdated. This bizarre defense is how you know the GOP has no case left. 

Originally Posted by Greg Shaffer

Seen Ken Starr quite a bit lately and have not heard him say anything like that.....got a link?

Watch his argument before the Senate. You don't need a link.

Originally Posted by Richard Davis

Just how imbecilic and juvenile are you?  Why is it that you reference everyone with whom you disagree by referring to them using childish names, similar in tactics to what a 6 year old on the playground would employ?

Have you reached puberty yet or are you still in elementary school, because you act like a little boy?

  

Well, that's it, folks. We have officially reached a peak lack of self-awareness. No one can be less self-aware than what this demonstrates.

Originally Posted by James Brown

Oh, I think they know it... Did you see Pelosi last night?  I’m guessing her anger is in part at those who forced her into an ineffective or downright disastrous impeachment she did not want.

It's one poll. The 538 aggregate hasn't moved positive much at all, but I'm not sure 538 incorporated the Gallup poll yet.

I'm guessing her anger was more about all of Trump's baseless boasting and lies in the speech. Trump says he's going to protect patients with pre-existing conditions, while at the same time, his administration is currently in court trying to eviscerate those protections? He claimed that he undid the disastrous economic policies of the previous administration and unleashed an economic boom when, in reality, all he did was inherit an incredible economy from his predecessor. The economy under Trump is not "roaring." GDP growth under his tenure to date ranks 7th among his prior 11 predecessors. Yes, unemployment is low, but that is a trend that started back in 2011 and has continued until today. In Obama's eight years, unemployment went from a high of 10% after the 2008 crash, which was caused by Republican policies, to a low of 4.7%. In Trump's three years, it's gone from 4.7% to 3.5%. His speech was a manifesto of mistruth. I'm sure that had a lot to do with it too.